This Standard has been cancelled and replaced by ECSS-E-ST-10C (6 March 2009) and ECSS-E-TM-10-20.
NOTE: Generic requirements moved to ECSS-E-ST-10C. Specific material moved to the Technical Memo ECSS-E-TM-10-20.

This Standard specifies the methods and protocols for the exchange of computer-interpretable product data in space projects. Product data is defined as all data that specifies one or more aspects of a product throughout its life cycle.

This Standard specifies which standardprotocol to use in what data exchange context bymaking reference to existing external standards. It does not specify the contents of any product data exchange protocol itself.

Two categories of product data exchange are distinguished: Specifically, this standard defines:

exchange of data between alternative tools used within one discipline, where the tools share similar functionality, and

exchange of data between tools of different disciplines.

For the second category, in most cases only a subset of the product data represented in one discipline can be transferredmeaningfully to a representation in another discipline.
Explicitly not within this Standards scope are:

This Standard is applicable to all participants in space programmes and throughout the complete product life cycle. The participants include customers, suppliers and partners at all levels and from all disciplines.

Space project engineering is a multidisciplinary activity employing a wide range of technologies, with no one person able tomaster all of the disciplines at the level of expertise required to ensure a successful outcome. Consequently, resources from a number of engineering disciplines generally contribute to the engineering process, at least at the higher levels of complexity (see ECSS-E-00).

When viewed from the perspective of a specific project context, the requirements defined in the present standard should be tailored to match the genuine requirements of a particular profile and circumstances of a project.

NOTE Tailoring is a process by which individual requirements of specifications, standards and related documents are evaluated and made applicable to a specific project, by selection and, in some exceptional cases, modification of existing or addition of new requirements. [ECSS-M-00-02A, Clause 3]